It is thought to be the largest black truffle ever grown in the country, a delicacy which could also be a world-beater and estimated to be worth $3,700AUD (£2,100).

It is thought to be the largest black truffle ever grown in the country Credit:
AFP / Getty

“The truffle was first spotted on 22 February in the first wave of covering near-surface truffles, I had no idea of the actual size until late last Thursday when I was protecting truffles against the 21C day,” he explained.

“The ripening aromas being released made Lani [his dog] mark the truffle enthusiastically, and we started digging… deeper … and deeper. Some 45 minutes later it was finally extracted from the ground. It was then cleaned, and air dried overnight.”

Stuart Dunbar poses with the truffle Credit:
AFP / Getty

He added: “I’ve had a lot of large truffles this year, many four to five hundred grams, with some notable specimens including a 630g & 800g. But this one weighed in at 1,511 grams.”

“It was a bit late in the week for marketing, and none of my regular customers could handle a truffle of this size. Other buyers could have been found, but there have been a lot of ‘we’ll call you’ responses from restaurants this year, so I decided I’d rather preserve it instead.”